I have a friend who always says the same thing when we sit down for a meal.
“I’m not hungry. I’ll just have a drink.”
You probably already know what happens next.
The first time it happened, I believed her. We were having dinner at a small Italian restaurant in Tiong Bahru, and while the rest of us were deciding what to order, she insisted she was fine. No pasta. No appetiser. Nothing.
Five minutes later, her fork appeared.
It started with one bite of my carbonara, with the words I was dreading but already expected: “Just trying it.”
Then came another.
A few minutes later, she was asking if anyone was going to finish the truffle fries in the middle of the table.
I looked at her and laughed because somehow this happens every single time. She never wants to order her own food, but she always has an opinion about everyone else’s.
The funny thing is, I don’t think she’s actually trying to steal anyone’s meal. She just wants to taste everything. Now, you have to know, my friend is the person who says she doesn’t want dessert but somehow knows exactly how the tiramisu tastes before anyone else.
I’ve seen this happen in so many friend groups. There is always one person who claims they are not hungry, then becomes the unofficial food critic of the table.
They’ll ask, “Is it nice?”
Before you can answer, they already have a utensil in your dish.
Some of the best dining moments come from the small habits we tease our friends about.
Food has a way of revealing personalities. The person who orders too much, the person who always shares, the person who wants to try everything but commits to nothing. These little behaviours are what make group meals feel familiar.
Looking back, I don’t even mind sharing my food anymore. It just becomes a part of the experience. A meal with friends is rarely just about what is on your own plate.
I still tell him to order her own pasta, though.
She still says she’s not hungry.
And somehow, I think we both know the fork is coming later.
if you’d like to find more places where meals turn into stories with friends, you can see it all right here.
